Both Eastside cross country teams qualify for state

Published: Saturday, November 10, 2012 at 6:01 a.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, November 11, 2012 at 12:55 a.m.

Both of Eastside's cross country teams secured their second straight trips to the FHSAA Class 2A state meet.

At Saturday's Class 2A, Region 1 meet at Sunny Hill Farms in Tallahassee, the Rams girls team placed fourth out of 13 teams and the boys squad snagged the last qualifying berth for state by placing sixth out of 14 teams.

For the girls, Christine Pu placed 23rd (20:56.87) out of 94 runners to lead Eastside, with Lucinda Peng finishing 25th (21:01.08). Vanessa McAdams (21:13.75) and Ria Someswhar (21:15.20) placed 28th and 29 respectively with Mia Varner (33rd, 21:33.64) rounding out the top five for the Rams (128 points).

Bradford sophomore Sarah Frederick finished 13th (20:19.79) to claim an individual spot to next week's state meet at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee. The top six teams and the top-15 individuals at every regional race move on to state.

Jacksonville Bolles' Mackenzie Wilson won the girls race (18:47.84) and led the Bulldogs to the team title (29 points). Santa Fe and Suwannee placed 12th and 13th respectively, failing to qualify.

On the boys side Carsten Thue-Bludworth finished (16:45.68) fourth out of 97 runners to pace the Rams (173 points), who edged Crawfordville Wakulla (175) for the last state qualifying berth. Ravi Kumar was 22nd (17:35.63) for Eastside, which prior to last season hadn't reached state since 1986.

Jacksonville Bishop Kenny's David Yarborough (16:24.93) won the boys race and led the Crusaders to the team title (36 points). Bradford was ninth and failed to move on.

The Tigers, who were participating in their first regional meet, placed 10th out of 16 teams. They failed to qualify as did Gainesville, which was 12th.

Fort Walton Beach (70 points) won the team title, with Susan Givens of Chiles winning the individual title (18:32.99).

On the boys side, GHS also saw its season come to an end after placing 15 out of 16 teams. Fort Walton Beach (49 points) was first as a team with Thomas Howell winning the individual crown (15:25.37).

Class 2A, Region 2: At Orlando Lake Nona, the area's only representatives, Chiefland's Erin Renaud and Emily Tummond, failed to qualify for next Saturday's state meet in Tallahassee. Renaud was 65th (24:40.40) and Tummond was 75th (25:29.70) out of 88 runners.

<p>Both of Eastside's cross country teams secured their second straight trips to the FHSAA Class 2A state meet.</p><p>At Saturday's Class 2A, Region 1 meet at Sunny Hill Farms in Tallahassee, the Rams girls team placed fourth out of 13 teams and the boys squad snagged the last qualifying berth for state by placing sixth out of 14 teams.</p><p>For the girls, Christine Pu placed 23rd (20:56.87) out of 94 runners to lead Eastside, with Lucinda Peng finishing 25th (21:01.08). Vanessa McAdams (21:13.75) and Ria Someswhar (21:15.20) placed 28th and 29 respectively with Mia Varner (33rd, 21:33.64) rounding out the top five for the Rams (128 points).</p><p>Bradford sophomore Sarah Frederick finished 13th (20:19.79) to claim an individual spot to next week's state meet at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee. The top six teams and the top-15 individuals at every regional race move on to state.</p><p>Jacksonville Bolles' Mackenzie Wilson won the girls race (18:47.84) and led the Bulldogs to the team title (29 points). Santa Fe and Suwannee placed 12th and 13th respectively, failing to qualify.</p><p>On the boys side Carsten Thue-Bludworth finished (16:45.68) fourth out of 97 runners to pace the Rams (173 points), who edged Crawfordville Wakulla (175) for the last state qualifying berth. Ravi Kumar was 22nd (17:35.63) for Eastside, which prior to last season hadn't reached state since 1986. </p><p>Jacksonville Bishop Kenny's David Yarborough (16:24.93) won the boys race and led the Crusaders to the team title (36 points). Bradford was ninth and failed to move on.</p><p>Class 3A, Region 1: Columbia freshman Emma Tucker placed 16th (19:30.59) on Saturday at Sunny Hill Farms just missing out on an individual state qualifying berth. Ashton McMurray of Tallahassee Chiles was 15th (19:23.25).</p><p>The Tigers, who were participating in their first regional meet, placed 10th out of 16 teams. They failed to qualify as did Gainesville, which was 12th. </p><p>Fort Walton Beach (70 points) won the team title, with Susan Givens of Chiles winning the individual title (18:32.99).</p><p>On the boys side, GHS also saw its season come to an end after placing 15 out of 16 teams. Fort Walton Beach (49 points) was first as a team with Thomas Howell winning the individual crown (15:25.37).</p><p>Class 2A, Region 2: At Orlando Lake Nona, the area's only representatives, Chiefland's Erin Renaud and Emily Tummond, failed to qualify for next Saturday's state meet in Tallahassee. Renaud was 65th (24:40.40) and Tummond was 75th (25:29.70) out of 88 runners.</p>